We're here to stay
0:50

Holden may have leaked images of the 2017 Holden Commodore in their latest commercial.

news.com.au

25 Dec 2013

News/World

HOLDEN is poised to kill the Commodore name once local production comes to an end in 2017 — and the man in charge of the decision is the same person who vowed to save it: former Holden boss Mike Devereux.

The decision comes as the next generation large car to replace the Commodore is now expected to come from Europe not China.

Holden is pleading with General Motors executives to keep the Commodore name because it is so iconic, but the request has fallen on deaf ears.

Holden is now going to be forced to adopt a global name for the car that will replace the Commodore which, in a bizarre twist, will come from the same place the Commodore originated from in 1978: Opel in Germany.

News Corp Australia has been told that Holden’s sales and marketing executive Phil Brook has been pleading with his former boss, Mr Devereux, who is now the vice- president of sales and marketing at General Motors’ international operations, based in Singapore.

Hand on heart ... former Holden boss Mike Devereux tried to save the Commodore — now he may kill the famous name. Picture: Calum RobertsonSource: News Limited

In the past two months Mr Brook is understood to have repeatedly asked Mr Devereux for his “support”, allegedly saying “I need the Commodore name to help sell this car”.

Mr Brook has denied making these comments. He told News Corp Australia it was “absolute rubbish, no decision has been made, we’ve got plenty of time to make those calls.”

However, Mr Brook did admit the Commodore nameplate is “up for discussion”.

News Corp Australia can reveal Mr Brook flew to Europe last month to view early versions of the General Motors’ new global large car, after which he reportedly begged his former boss to reconsider the use of the Commodore name.

2014 model ... reaction to the ditching of the Commodore name has been mixed.Source: Supplied

The burial of the Commodore name alongside the Falcon nameplate, one of the longest running in the automotive world, is likely to be viewed by some Holden fans as a betrayal.

But others may welcome the move given that every car that has worn the Commodore badge so far was an Australian-made rear-wheel-drive sedan, whereas the next model will be a foreign-made front-wheel-drive sedan.

A Holden insider told News Corp Australia last year the switch to Chevrolet could happen if General Motors believes the Holden brand image has been damaged by the shutdown of its factories.

It’s over ... workers at Holden’s Port Melbourne plant after it was announced General Motors was closing its Australian operations.Source: News Limited

“There is no emotion in this,” the insider said. “It will all come down to money. If General Motors thinks sales will go down because the Holden brand is on the nose, then they will switch it to Chevrolet.”

Marketing experts say it would cost between $500,000 and $1 million to rebrand each of Holden’s 233 dealerships nationwide, and that General Motors would likely foot half the bill for each showroom, forcing Holden dealers to pick up the rest of the tab or lose the franchise.

One Holden insider revealed that the company has been forced to conduct exhaustive research with Australian car buyers to prove the case to Detroit that the Holden brand is worth saving.

“The amount of money we’ve spent trying to defend the Holden brand to Detroit is ridiculous,” the insider said.

Devastation ... the burial of the Commodore name is likely to be viewed by some Holden fans as a betrayal.Source: News Limited

“But when executives from North America come out to Australia, they take photos of Chevrolet badges that people have fitted to their Holden (cars), and use that against us.”

At the time of the factory shutdown announcement last December, Mr Devereux said: “Holden is committed to this country … we expect we will be a thriving brand in this country for many years to come.”

The original Holden “lion and stone wheel” logo was created by sculptor Rayner Hoff in 1928, before GM brought the saddlery turned body builder in 1948.

The logo was a tribute to the prehistoric fable that lions rolling stones led to the invention of the wheel.

The Holden lion badge has changed only three times since 1928: in 1948 at the launch of the first General Motors Holden car, in 1972 to coincide with the launch of the HQ Kingswood, (which went on to become the biggest selling Holden of all time), and in 1994 as Holden ramped up its marketing push for the Commodore to reclaim top-seller status from the Ford Falcon.

News.com.au's Privacy Policy includes important information about our collection, use and disclosure of your personal information (including to provide you with targeted content and advertising based on your online activities). It explains that if you do not provide us with information we have requested from you, we may not be able to provide you with the goods and services you require. It also explains how you can access or seek correction of your personal information, how you can complain about a breach of the Australian Privacy Principles and how we will deal with a complaint of that nature.

A NOTE ABOUT RELEVANT ADVERTISING: We collect information about the content (including ads) you use across this site and use it to make both advertising and content more relevant to you on our network and other sites.